Wrong Way to Ask
by LVfangirl
Summary: Added conversation(s) in Wrong Way Home between Lee and Amanda. Mostly drabble.


**A/N: Added conversation during Wrong Way Home. Things I wish would have been said that I cannot get out of my head. ONE-SHOT**

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_ "For the first time since we met, you're my case." Lee paused, looking down at his hands. "Now. I need to know the truth—even if it's tough."_

_Still holding the ES12, Amanda looked down at it, Joe's words melding into to one big jumble. She closed the folder, set it down on the desk and picked up the sheet of paper she'd been writing on and handed it across the desk toward him. "Uh, here's your list."_

_Lee cocked his head to the side, looking pained. Amanda, seeing his annoyance, sighed. She set the paper down in front of them. "Okay. Joe and I were married in '72. Joe started law school in 1973 and I had Phillip in 1973. And then Joe graduated in '75 and Jamie came right—"_

_"I can read, Amanda." When she met his eye, his tone softened. "Tell me what isn't in the file, okay? What went wrong?"_

_"With the marriage? Umm…"_

_"Amanda…"_

_She cocked her head to the side, shaking it slightly. "No, really, I mean, why?"_

_"I don't know, call it criminal psychology or something like that…." When she didn't say anything, he continued, "Look, I am trying to—to put the pieces together here. Joe is wanted for murder…Now, everything you've told me about the guy leads me to believe he's just a—a happy-go-lucky, mild mannered lawyer."_

_"He's a great guy, he really is…" she looked down. "And I feel a little uncomfortable in this situation."_

"Amanda, I wouldn't be asking if it weren't imperative to the case."

She shrugged and picked at a hangnail on her thumb. "Explain to me how me detailing my marital problems from over four years ago can make an impact on who Joe is today."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Amanda, you know as well as I do that, I have to learn everything there is to know about the guy. That's my job."

She looked up and gave him a look. "You didn't run off and find Joe to ask him these questions when I was wanted for murder, Lee. Or when the Spiderweb fiasco happened. Or…or any other time, for that matter. Why do you need to know this now?"

Obviously taken aback, Lee sputtered, "That's different, Amanda, and you know it."

"No, I don't know it, Lee. How is this any different? It feels like you're using it as an excuse to pry."

His mouth opened and shut dumbly but before he could say another word, there was a knock at the door and any further discussion was put on hold.

***BREAK***

_Sitting in a back booth at Dooley's, Lee poured Amanda another glass of beer. He cleared his throat and before saying in an almost too casual voice, "Amanda….um, you never did finish telling my why you got divorced."_

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, reaching out and straightening the beer stein more evenly on its coaster.

"Amanda?"

"Hmm?"

"Why is this so hard?"

Amanda bit her lip, keeping her eyes on the stein and not on Lee. "You've never really asked me about my past, Lee. My past…" she shrugged and looked up at him. "Hurts."

Concern etched across his features and she shook her head, knowing what he was thinking. "Not that way, Lee. No. It's just…"

He leaned closer to her, reaching out to take her hand. "Yeah?"

She decided to be straight-forward. "Why are you really asking, Lee? Professional curiosity? Or…what?"

His fingers threaded through hers as he looked directly in her eyes. "Of course, there's that, sure."

She swallowed. "Just that?"

"Well…" his voice became husky and she could see his Adam's apple bob up and down. Very carefully, he pulled back, looked down and said, "No."

After a pregnant pause, he finally added with a shrug, "What made you you, Amanda, intrigues me." He looked up. "Tell me about what made you you."

His admission and the way his hazel eyes had softened to the bluest shade of blue despite the dim lighting broke her resolve to not say too much. She could see that he really wanted to know, and not just to put a check mark in his report.

Rubbing her hands together, Amanda rolled her lips inward, her thoughts going back to those many years ago. "Well, it's no big secret….ummm…well, when Joe got out of Law School, he was interested in the Emergency Aid Organization. And that meant constant travel." She glanced up at Lee and he nodded encouragingly. "I just didn't think that would be good for the boys…They were too little, you know. Six months here, six months there, I really thought it would be better if we were all settled."

"You wanted to be a housewife."

"Well…" _not exactly. _"I wanted a home. I wanted for all of us to have a home. But, ah…"she trailed off, thinking about when Joe left without a thought to how it would affect his family. "Joe..Joe felt that he really—really had something to give so he went ahead and took the job…and I stayed in Arlington. I guess we were really separated for a couple of years…."_ very lonesome years, "_until we finally admitted that it—it just wasn't going to work. So…life's turned out okay."

"Yeah, but 'okay'…" he shook his head. "Isn't good enough for you."

Her eyes jumped to his and there was something there that she'd never seen before—admiration, maybe, or understanding, she couldn't be sure—but something that spoke to her more than words could in that moment. She returned his smile, realizing his hands had found hers again on the table. His fingers were absently tracing hers in a tantalizing fashion, and she wondered belatedly if he even was aware of what he was doing.

It was these little moments they shared that made Amanda seriously wonder what was happening between them, if it was something that was leading to something that was much bigger. It was she who broke the moment, looking away from his intense stare when her heart started pounding uncontrollably with the thought.

She needed to be very careful, she reminded herself.

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A/N: Thank you for reading. Review if you'd like.


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